ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels reliever Ty Buttrey is walking away from baseball, saying he’s lost his affection for the game.
“I just wanted to prove everyone wrong,” he posted on social media Saturday. “As time went on baseball became more of a business and less of a game. I couldn’t help but notice my love and passion for this game started to diminish. I always thought baseball was a cool job. I also knew that same job paid extremely well. What young kid doesn’t want a cool job that pays well?”
The right-hander was one of the key pieces of the Angels’ bullpen the past three seasons, but he struggled with control problems during spring training and was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.
His 115 appearances from 2018-20 were fourth on the team among pitchers, and he was 8-11 with a 4.30 ERA.
Buttrey, 28, said he informed the Angels of his decision to leave baseball, and the organization asked him to take some more time to think about it. He did not outline his next steps in his statement.
Angels manager Joe Maddon said before Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox that he had been in contact with Buttrey since last weekend. He said the team would welcome him back if he decided to return to baseball.
“There’s a lot of times when you get that age you become confused by different things, and you choose different routes. Maybe something’s more important to him right now,” Maddon said. “It’s one of those things that’s up to the individual. I respect it. I respect him.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.